Article Abstract:
A case of an unusual vertebral fracture in a 79 year-old woman who was admitted to the hospital because of pain in her back and increasing loss of neurologic control is presented. The patient had been in good health until she tripped and fell. Following this apparently mild injury she was unable to walk because of pain and so she was taken to a different hospital. She had a history of mild arthritis and diagnosed osteoporosis, decreased mineralization of the bones. She had suffered for more then 30 years with diabetes mellitus, but had only recently been treated with insulin. Diagnostic imaging by CAT scanning and magnetic resonance imaging, techniques for examining both the bone and soft tissues of her back, showed a clear fracture of her twelfth thoracic vertebra. The severity of the fracture relative to what appeared to be a very minor injury evoked much discussion, particularly concerning the possibility that the fracture and bone destruction might have been caused by a tumor. Following pathologic examination of injuries to the skeleton and microscopic evidence obtained following a bone biopsy, a definitive diagnosis of diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis or Forestier's disease was finally made.
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Article Abstract:
A 75-year-old man was admitted to a hospital with left-sided chest pain and a history of coughing up blood. A CT scan done prior to hospitalization revealed a mass in his left lung. Examination with a bronchoscope revealed the mass and determined it as the site of bleeding. He was initially diagnosed with non-small-cell lung cancer. However, after removing part of the lung involved, surgeons discovered a small piece of a plant in the tissue. The patient revealed that he often chewed sprigs of the arborvitae tree while golfing. He recalled aspirating the sprig, but thought it would be eliminated naturally.
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Article Abstract:
A 34-year-old woman was admitted to a hospital with a chronic cough, and coughing up blood. A chest X-ray showed a large mass in her right lung and a smaller one in her left lung. A CT scan revealed fluid in the masses, indicating that they were cysts and not tumors. She had traveled extensively throughout the US and other countries and had been exposed to bat droppings around a cave in New Mexico. A blood test showed that she had been exposed to a parasite called Echinococcus. She was treated with the drug albendazole and her right lower lung was removed.
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